Monday, December 21, 2009

Lord Marrowgar: a dps DK Perspective

Icecrown is here! If you're a raiding DK, you've been inside to see what the fuss is about. If you're lucky, you've been able to clear the first wing, and are eagerly awaiting the second wing, coming soonTM!
In my guild limbo situation, I've managed to clear the first ICC10 wing on my DK and shaman, but not having a full raid means I've only managed to pug 25 man and only get past Lord Marrowgar.

In any case, it's time for the first ICC dps DK perspective!

The first fight in Icecrown Citadel is Lord Marrowgar, a nasty bone lord. I'm sure you know the fight in general, and there's lots of info out there now, so I won't review it. You're here for some thoughts on how to maximize your performance as a DK. I've got a few thoughts, and as we repeat the fight some more, I'm sure I'll think of a few more things. I'll probably revisist everything once heroic modes are unlocked. Feel free to chime in with ideas!

Pull/Phase One: Just run in. I hoist my army before the pull. Remember, as unholy you don't want to Icy Touch on the way in. My personal solution to that I pump up my runic power before the pull and get 1-2 Death Coils off as I run in. STAY BEHIND the boss - he cleaves! Then you Plague Strike, Icy Touch, Blood Strike, Blood Strike, and Scourge Strike (or start your rotation as blood or frost). Get proc-buffed pets out as per normal (and diseases rolling if glyph of disease spec). There is no aoe on this fight. Go all out on dps asap (heroism/bloodlust should probably be up). Target Bone Spikes on melee - it's probably best to create a macro, although the spikes are highly visible and tab target also works fine. Target switching will make or break this phase. You can pestilence diseases back and forth. I pest the moment bone spikes appear, switch, and if there's time, pest back to the boss from the spikes (although they die very fast). When killing spikes, you may be far enough to get hit by coldflame - the blue stuff on the floor. I take the opportunity to put up my anti-magic shield and absorb more magic for my death coils - usually I can icy touch the nearest spike, run to it, plague strike, and if I'm standing on coldflame, just death coil until it's dead.

If you're not completely foolish with aggro on LM, you should NOT die in phase one unless your raidmates let you die in a spike.

Phase Two: Run away at the very start of Bone Storm. It's important to note that LM picks a player, runs/spins to them, then stays on the spot where they were and spins in place. When you see where he's going, run close enough to Icy Touch and Death Coil, but no closer (you shouldn't get hit). He'll target another player, and most likely run past you on his way to that other player. As he's running past, I reapply my plague strike and if there's time, scourge strike. Also, while running around, I pop AMS again and use it to fire off a few more death coils from range. Of course, even us plate wearers need to make sure we run out of his bone storm when he's standing still and spinning. It will eventually kill you, so you can't just stand in it and dps.

Our tanks just tank him where he stops spinning and face him to the nearest wall, so when Bone Storm is ending, stay out of his melee range to avoid cleave until he's positioned, then run in and resume Phase One actions. Use dps pet on cooldown (ghoul, gargoyle, DRW).

Your dps should be solid. It's a simple, straightforward fight. On phase two melee generally don't do that well, but you can at least keep some dps on him if you do as I recommend; your dps numbers may not look as pretty, but overall damage will increase, and more importantly, the boss will die sooner. Melee have to run all over, while ranged tend to be able to stay in one place a little more and pick their targets (although they have to dodge coldflame so it evens out). On normal 10 man, my dps can be low - in the 5-6k range. Of course, there's no aoe to help an unholy DK go nuts. Blood in particular may shine on this fight, especially once more T10 armor pen gear is available.

About Hinenuitepo

Hinenuitepo is a female Orc Death Knight in the guild Casual Corps on the Frostwolf server in the MMO World of Warcraft. This blog centers around her adventures and those of her fellow Death Knights in fighting the scions of darkness and defeating pixellated monsters.
The author works for the world's most powerful military as a real life healer.